The Potion
by allthenicenamesaregone
Summary: Lily tells Remus a secret. James messes with Polyjuice potion, without knowing it's side effects. Severus has a theory.
1. Polyjuice

James Potter was simply dying to know what it was that Lily Evans had confided in Remus. He was never one to care much about other people, but when it involved him, he _had _to know. Lily couldn't pretend that she wasn't talking about him either because he had heard her say his name clearly and vividly.

He had bothered Remus endlessly, but being the good child he was, no answers were given. Now, James was resorting to rather extreme measures. He hadn't really wanted to wait an entire month for his master plan, but there was no other way to get the secret information. Plus, it would be fun.

"What in the bloody hell is this!?" James gagged as he took the Polyjuice potion.

"Sorry, mate. You asked for it." Sirius said.

"Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" muttered Peter.

"Yes, now shut up," said Sirius, not wanting anyone to discourage James from completing their master plan.

James took a big gulp of the lumpy potion before it fell on the bathroom floor, and he rushed to go puke. His hands and entire body seemed to be boiling. Then, quickly enough, he was Remus Lupin.

He exited the stall, ruffling Remus' hair. It seemed that no matter how much he ruffled it, it always stayed at normal poof-levels. He sighed.

"First order of business," he said. "Lily Evans."

* * *

He walked the halls and into the library where he was sure Lily would be at.

"Hello Evans," he greeted confidently, taking a seat at the table.

"Hey. I've been meaning to talk to you about something..." she said.

"Yeah?"

"So, remember what Severus told me the other day…"

"No..?" he muttered. How dare that Snivelly even talk to Lily after what he said!

"The potion..." she said, raising her eyebrows, surprised Remus could forget such an important detail.

"What about a potion?"


	2. Lilies, Side-effects, and Owls

"You know. _The _potion," she said, as if emphasizing 'the' was going to make anything clearer.

"Uhhh, yeah. Of course!" James said, hitting his head with his knuckle for added effect.

"So...I know you told me that you didn't think James would do that, and, well, I agree. I didn't think he could have been that stupid. But, then, I don't know I think that the potion might be working." James furrowed his eyebrows. Did Lily know he wasn't really Remus? He decided to play dumb, something he'd learned how to do too well.

"What do you mean?" he asked stupidly.

"James Potter is making dangerous potions! He is putting them to use, and you know that I know, don't you?"

"What?"

"Remus, I can tell you're hiding something. You're acting very...strange. Wait... isn't it the full moon tomorrow?" Lily smirked. James simply shrugged.

"What about the full moon?" he laughed with a hint of nervousness.

"_You_ know," Lily said smugly, leaving the chair to get another book.

"Oh," she remembered. "And tell Potter I need to speak to him."

James sighed and exited the library. Stupid Snivellus ratting him out. He had probably heard them talking in class about the master plan. Stupid Snivellus. If only Remus weren't such a goodie-goodie, then maybe he'd know what in Merlin's pants Lily was talking about. But no, it was all up to him.

* * *

"And then she told me it was going to be a full moon!" James said, now in his own body.

"James, that's not good. You know what Remus is going to do to you if he finds out someone knows he's a werewolf?" asked Peter.

"Oh, calm down, Ratty. She's not going to tell anyone because she has no evidence. And on the day of the full moon, Remus will be there." Sirius said, smiling at his own brilliance.

"How?" asked Peter, eyes wide.

Sirius just sighed and dramatically whispered, "Polyjuice Potion."

* * *

James awoke the next day, feeling tired and drowsy. It was definitely not one of his best days, but it wasn't bad. James Potter never looked bad, only less good than usual.

He was disoriented, on the floor, many brown feathers surrounding him.

"What the bloody-?" he said, as he saw actual fresh blood on his hands. He made out his surroundings. He was in his own room. _Okay, good._ He looked at his friend's unmade beds only to find them empty. He looked at his friend's pets...one was missing. _Peter's owl!_

"Oh, no, no, no. You can't be telling me I-" James muttered to no one. He coughed a bit, and a balled, wet, brown feather popped out.

There were steps bounding towards the room.


	3. Mythical Beasts:Experimental Tragedies

James scooped up all of the feathers in a useless attempt. There were too many scattered over the room, evidence of his undeniable side-effects. How would he explain this? _I murdered your owl, Peter...I ate him too. Remus, mate, I'm also a werewolf._  
He just slumped down on the cold floor, awaiting his friends. _Step, step, step.  
_  
"Uhhh, what the fu-?" questioned Sirius.

"What happened?" asked Peter, with a small shriek upon noticing the absence of his owl.

"Polyjuice potion has side-effects, I think. Well, when you take it from a werewolf," said James.

"Wait what?"

"Side-effects!" James said.

"But...I brewed it correctly!" Sirius said defensively.

"I don't just murder owls in my sleep!" said James with another shriek from Peter.

"I brewed it perfectly! You both helped me, right? Has anyone actually been recorded taking a Polyjuice with werewolf hair?"

"Maybe. We just need to look it up in the library. Today is the full moon. I just...ugh, I can't be a werewolf! And I have to talk to Lily. Ughh. Stupid Snivelly told on me!" James muttered frantically.

"Calm down," said Peter, almost in tears with brown feathers in his hands.

"I'll buy you a new owl, Wormtail. It can be whatever owl you want. I just...need to figure this all out."

* * *

"What do you mean the book is checked out?" James almost screamed followed by several shushes and a malicious glare from Madame Pince.

"It is checked out by Severus Snape there are no more copi-" she whispered.

James instantly ran away and screamed "Thanks!"

"Snivelly, he has it. He has Mythical Beasts: Experimental Tragedies!" shouted James as he entered their room. Remus was there.

"And why do you need that?" he asked cluelessly.

"Homework," covered Peter.

"Yeah," James agreed, gesturing he and Sirius out into the Common Room. Luckily, Remus was too drained to follow them.

"I'm going to need my Invisibility Cloak. Get it for me, Sirius. Don't let Remus see. And, we're going to need the left-over Polyjuice later."

* * *

James' cloak fell off several times. One of those times Lily Evans happened to be walking by. She hadn't seen the cloak, or maybe she just didn't let on she had.

"Potter, I need to speak to you," she said casually. James looked at the setting sun, and decided to keep the conversation as short as possible.

"Look, I'm not using any potion. You're deluded!" and then he ran away, finding the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room in the dungeons.

He waited a bit until some random arrived and said the rubbish password he already knew. He hadn't wanted to arouse any suspicion by entering just himself with his cloak on. Severus Snape was the only one there. He read a book, illuminated by the room's green glow.  
James saw the Mythical Beasts: Experimental Tragedies right on a table next to Snivellus. He grabbed it silently and prepared to leave until he tripped, the cloak falling on the book.  
Severus's head whipped around, a glare already formed in his black eyes.


	4. Sectumsempra

"What are you doing here, Potter?" every syllable in his voice filled with hatred.

"Uhhh...I uhm-"

"For once the fabulous Potter has no words to say. How strange." he muttered, hands in his robe pocket-the one with his wand.

"I...uhh... needed a book you checked out," James said.

Snape's eyebrows furrowed and his expression darkened more, if that was even possible.

"What book?" he asked suspiciously. "And for what purpose?"

"Why do you care?"

"Why are you in the Slytherin Common Room without permission? Why are you creating unsupervised potions?"  
James gulped.

"I know what you've been doing, Potter. I hear that loud-mouth Siruis talk about your 'master plan' and I'm quite tempted to tell."

"Then why haven't you?" James challenged.

"I had to be sure that it was true, but you want my book, so it must be. Sectumsempra!"

A deep gash appeared on James cheek.

"The bloody hell is wrong with you?" James said, crawling back and sitting on the apparently unnoticed cloak and book.

"You! Sectumsempra! Sectumsempra! Sectumsempra! Sectumsempra!" Several deep gashes appeared in James' hands as he attempted to get his wand.

"Stop it! What's wrong with you?" he yelled.

"Sectumsempra! Incendio! Sectumsempra! Sectumsempra!" he said madly. They always say that the 'bad guy' would have an evil glint in their eyes, but Severus had nothing. Just empty blackness, not a spec of light.

James also had the uneasy feeling that maybe Snape _wasn't_ the bad guy...but there was no denying that James was probably going to die. He had a slight burn and tons of horrendous gashes. He was cowering like a baby, his pain and blood-loss too much. He almost cried.

Then the door opened and a Slytherin girl walked in.

"Oh my god. Severus! What are- You're going to kill him, you freak!"

James took that opportunity to slip the cloak and book into his robe and trudge away, his balance failing more than once.  
Why had Severus been so angry? Because he had overheard James saying that the potion would be how he'd win Lily over? Was it just pure hate?  
James didn't know, but as he neared his room, he realized he liked being alive. It worried him that he had this thought this because it meant he had felt his life was at threat: people usually appreciate what they feel they're going to lose. He knew that if not for the girl's convenient entrance, he would have surely died.


	5. Lovely, Monstrous Secrets

James opened the book.

"Werewolves, werewolves. Hmmm. Okay, here…. 'Polyjuice Potion and Side-effects with Half-breeds.' Half-breeds? That sounds kind of rude…Blah, blah, blah. 'Polyjuice Potion is intended for human use…Half-breeds cannot turn into humans.' Well, that's great, but I want to know if _I'll_ turn into a werewolf. So, that's it. I'm dead."

"Maybe we should ask Remus already, or find another book. I don't know," said Sirius. "We can't risk you being cut into ribbons again. If not for my excellent healing abilities..."

"We need to tell Remus," James stated firmly.

"But what about Lily?" asked Peter. "What if she finds out?"

"Ugghhhhhhhh!" James groaned frantically. "I can't do this. I don't want to be a werewolf. Werewolves are monsters."

Right on the "Werewolves are monsters" Remus walked in. He turned on his heel and immediately left.

"Remus, mate. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that! Remus, stop!" yelled James.

He tried to go after him, but his cuts, now magically erased, felt like weird pains inside of him. For a second, he worried if it was a side-effect, but then he decided he didn't care. He had gotten himself into this stupid mess just to hear a stupid secret from Lily Evans. He deserved to feel horrible, especially after what he had said about werewolves.

Also because he found himself thinking:_ Now, I have to go get another book._

* * *

He trudged to the library miserably. He had to act fast before the library closed. Plus, it was also Remus' full moon tonight. Maybe it would also be his own…

James looked for a book about Polyjuice, but it had already been checked out. and he didn't feel much like getting gashed open again. He moved to the book-drop to return Snivelly's book, but the girl at the counter looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"You didn't check this book out…Severus did, right?"

"How am I supposed to know?" he said. Even though he did know, it was still a legitimate question.

"Okay, then let me check the log. Severus…Severus. Right here. Severus Snape. He's checked out: A History of Spells, Potions: Amortentia, Hogwarts: A History, _Mythical Beasts: Experimental Tragedies_," she mumbled, with emphasis on the title to show she was right.

"Big deal. It's called doing a favor… Hey what- what was the second book you said?"

"That's confidential!"

"But you already told me! It's kind of an emergency."

"Potions: Amortentia. I don't see why-"

"Okay, thanks." James said, running off.

He didn't know why this information was vital, but maybe it provided an explanation to Severus' behavior. Maybe he was jealous of James making a move on Lily when he had gone to the lengths of making Amortentia. Maybe James had spoiled his plans… The only thing James was certain of was that he had to warn Lily, but with his level of credibility…And James also had to show Lily that Remus wasn't a werewolf. Remus! Bright, innocent, Remus, that Lily always believed…

* * *

"Peter, get me Remus' clothes or anything with his hair on it. And, Sirius, leftover Polyjuice please?"

James had decided, that after all of this, he would put himself last. It didn't matter if he did become a werewolf forever, or murdered more owls, but he at least wanted to make sure Remus' secret remained hidden. Maybe Lily Evans' secret should also remain hidden.


	6. Revelations

James' plan was talk to Lily, warn her, keep Remus' secret safe by doing so, and then finding Remus.

He had drunk the Polyjuice Potion, it's pleasant taste still in his mouth.

"Lily, I have something important to tell you…"

"Why did you tell James?"

"Tell him what?"

"About the potion thing. He ran after me screaming that I was deluded."

"He's mental. What can I say? I think he overheard us."

"Well, great. Now he thinks I'm in love with him."

"Wait, what?"

"Amortentia."

"What about Amortentia?"

"Really? James thinks that I'm in love with him because of the Amortentia he supposedly used."

"Amortentia?"

"Yes! What's with you today? Remember…Severus warned me that he heard James talking with Siruis about me and a potion. He thought it was Amortentia…and then I told you it might be working even though I knew it wasn't there. Do you have memory loss? Or has this got to do with the full moon?"

"I'm sorry. Severus thought I was using Amortentia on you?" said James, confused. Maybe that's why he had the book. He had never thought James was using Polyjuice Potion. He thought James was using Amortentia…and so did Lily! And she said it was working even though she knew it wasn't there…

"Remus, we have to take you to the nurse. You're really confused, and I know what happens on the full moon."

" Nothing is…ugh" he groaned suddenly getting a splitting headache. He looked through the window, and sure enough, the moon was high and shining.

"Let's go!" Lily screeched.

"I- No." said James, talking off to find Remus, Maybe his secret was sort of spoiled now, but they'd just have to trust Lily Evans from then on. And James didn't think the nurse could really do anything against someone turning into a werewolf.


End file.
